.lobster & mushroom spaghetti.

I had every intention of making lobster curry the other night, but I didn't have all of the ingredients so I had to think of something else to make. So I decided what's better than pasta and lobster? Oooo put it together! A winning combo for sure.

I didn't make your typical tomato base spaghetti sauce. Instead I made a lemon garlic wine sauce that was out of this world, blending the seafood and pasta together.


Begin by mincing three cloves garlic.












Thinly slice one medium sized onion.












Remove the seeds and gunk from 2 roma tomatoes. Dice.











Chop up some chives (about 2 Tbsp).












Chop up 1 pound lobster meat. If you can use fresh, that's best, but I wasn't able to. I bought lobster meat next to the seafood section at the grocery store.

Make sure you keep the pieces bite sized... don't cut too small.






To take an easy shortcut, I bought a package of pre-sliced mixed mushrooms. This pack came with shiitake, cremini, and white.










You'll need one lemon, juiced.












And 2 Tbsp cream.












Put a pot of water on to boil. Add salt. Cook spaghetti as directed on package. I like using thin spaghetti but use what you like.










In a pan, put 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1/2 cup white wine, the onion, and garlic in a saute pan. Turn on to high heat. We want to reduce this by half.










When the liquid has reduced by half, add the mushrooms and tomatoes. Mix around and cook for about 5 more minutes on medium high.










Add 1 tsp basil. Cook another 2-3 minutes.












Turn the heat to low and add 3 Tbsp butter. Stir with a spoon and mix the two together. You don't want the sauce to separate when you add the butter.









When the butter has melted, add the cream and lobster meat. Stir around. You really only need to heat the lobster as the sauce is complete at this time. Taste and season with sea salt and black pepper.








Finish with the chopped chives.

Drain your pasta and plate. Spoon the sauce over the top and garnish with fresh grated parmesan reggiano cheese.

Serve with salad and bread.



Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_134cd7hjbfm

.fettuccine alfredo.

Fettuccine alfredo is one of those great foods that bring me a lot of comfort. How many of you actually make your own alfredo sauce? Do you pick up a jar or one of those DiGiorno kind in the refrigerator section of your grocery store?

I admit I used to do that... but those things cost a lot more than it takes to make your own and it's a lot better tasting because it doesn't need any preservatives to keep it fresher longer.


Let's begin with our roux (pronounced roo). In a saucepan put 1/4 cup butter, 1 clove minced garlic, and a drizzle of olive oil. Allow the garlic to saute for about 30 seconds.









While whisking, add 1/3 cup flour. You need to whisk so the flour doesn't clump up on you. Turn your burner down to low heat and let your roux continue to cook for awhile. The longer you let this go, the darker it will turn, and the more flavorful it will be. I had mine on th eheat for about 30 minutes. Don't forget about it. You'll need to keep stirring!





While whisking again, add 1 cup cream. If you're not counting calories or fat grams, add another 2 cups of cream. If you're like me and trying to keep things on the healthier side, after you add the 1 cup milk, add 2 cups milk.

Kick up the heat (medium high) and keep stirring while this thickens up. You want a gravy consistency so not too thick, okay?




Season well with salt and pepper. Taste the sauce at this point to adjust seasoning.











Take a BIG handful of parmesan cheese. I use a good quality parm for this because we're not trying to skimp on flavor and parmesan isn't a high fat cheese.
















My little soux chef shows how thick this sauce is when it's done. It should coat the back of the spoon.. .or in our case, it is sticking nicely to the wires of my whisk.

At this stage, you can package up your sauce and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. We were having this with our pork chops the other night so I had a pot of fettuccine cooking while we made the sauce. After the pasta is cooked, drain well, and then mix with the sauce.

Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top of your fettuccine after it's been plated. Delicious! Enjoy!



Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_124g3dswxhj

.cajun chicken pasta w/ roasted red pepper sauce.

I received an email the other day asking if I had a cajun chicken pasta recipe that I would be willing to share. Well, I didn't, but I am *always* looking for new dinner ideas and thought this would be a good one. I didn't want to do a basic cream sauce so I took it one step further and made a roasted red pepper cream sauce that was out of this world! A little kick and oh yah..

This recipe doesn't take that long to make. You just have to remember to make your rub and coat the chicken the night before so it has enough time to marinate. You can have this on your table in under an hour!


In a large ziploc, put 4 Tbsp paprika, 2 Tbsp salt, 2 Tbsp garlic powder, 1 Tbsp black pepper, 2 Tbsp onion powder, 1 1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper, and 2 tsp thyme. Shake it up to mix everything together.

Put two chicken breasts in the bag and shake to coat. Seal well and hold in the fridge overnight.


Before grilling, scrape off some of the rub so it's not all caked on. Grill on high to sear each side, then lower the temp and cook through. Once cooked, pull from the grill and bring inside.


Once the chicken has rested for a few minutes, shred using two forks. I left the pieces in bite sized portions. I didn't want it *too* shredded. Set aside.


Mince one shallot.

Mince 3-4 cloves garlic.


Take a jar of roasted red peppers and drain completely. Roughly chop the peppers.


This is the pasta I used. You can use fettuccine or any kind you want.


Bring salt water to a boil and cook the whole box of pasta for 12-14 minutes. Once cooked, drain well.

While that cooks we're going to make the sauce.


Heat 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.


Add the shallot, garlic, and peppers. Cook over medium heat and let them sweat for about 5 minutes. You don't want the heat too high. Sauteing (like I usually do) seals in the flavor. Sweating the garlic and shallots releases and mellows the flavor. That's what we want!


Season with a little salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Don't use too much pepper! You want a little heat, not too much.


After those 5 minutes, put everything into a blender. Put the lid on and start blending.


Make sure you're careful with this step! Slowly add a pint of cream through the top hole. Make sure you keep the cap on and drizzle that cream in because it will shoot up at you.


Pour the sauce back into the skillet and put over low heat to reheat a little.


Grate about 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.


Add the cooked pasta and parmesan to the sauce and toss everything together well.


Add the shredded chicken. Toss well.


Chop a little parsley and add to the pan. Toss well again.

Plate up and garnish with a little more grated parmesan and a sprig of parsley.

Thank you Celeste for the email and I hope your family enjoys this dish as much as we did. It's definitely going to be made again and again here! If you're low carbing like I'm doing, you can just leave out the pasta on your plate. The chicken and sauce are great by themselves.

Serve with salad.


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_107dr5m2mcg

Oofdah!

I realized a week or so ago that I am not horribly diverse in my food. I really like German food, but don't make it often enough. Growing up, my mom used to make german spiced cabbage all the time. It's something I think all of us kids love and the only time I ever get it is when I go home. The reason why? Jim doesn't like it. I made it once and he pretty much turned his nose up at it. How dare he! lol

Well, it has been awhile since I made it and thought I would give him another chance in liking it. I decided to make a whole german meal so he would have *something* to eat. This entry will contain all three recipes. I made wiener schnitzel and spaetzle with this and served cooked carrots on the side (gotta get those veggies in somewhere!).

The cabbage is very easy and fast. Let me show you how.


Thinly slice some red cabbage. Since there are only three eating in our home, I used half a head. Make more if you have more mouths to feed.


In a small bowl, put 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cloves, 1 tsp allspice, and 1 tsp salt.


Put the cabbage in a pan over medium heat and add the spices.


Add 1/2 cup brown sugar.


And add 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar.


Cut up some kielbasa and put in the pan. Cover with a lid and let steam for about 20 minutes.

While that steams, let's make the spaetzle.


This recipe didn't make a lot. It was enough for three of us, so double if you need more.

In a bowl, put 1 cup flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Mix up.


Make a well in the center and pour into the middle 1/4 cup milk.


And 2 eggs.


Use your fingers to mix everything together. Work in a circular motion until the dough pulls together.


It will be thick enough to coat your fingers. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.


Bring some water to a boil. Add some salt.


You're going to need a colander with wide holes. This is a colander I got for my wedding and have used it before to make spaetzel. They also sell something called a spaetzel hex. A special little gizmo to make perfect noodles. I highly suggest using that instead of this because it will go a lot faster.


Dump your batter in and use a spatula to press the batter through the holes into the boiling water.


Let them cook in the water for a few minutes.


Drain well.


Return to the pot and add a couple pats of butter and some finely chopped chives. Stir well and set aside.

Finally, let's make the wiener schnitzel!


Season your veal well. If you buy veal chops, you'll need to pound them with a mallet to flatten. I bought veal that was already sliced thin so I didn't need to do that step.


Coat with flour.


Dip in some egg.

Coat with some breadcrumbs.


Heat a little oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Fry on both sides until golden brown. Since these are thin, they don't need to fry that long so make sure you don't let them go forever.


Just before serving, squeeze some lemon on top.


There you have it! A german fest to make anyone happy. Making all three of these dishes wasn't difficult. I had it all made within an hour. So if you're looking for something new to make for your family tonight... try this! Enjoy!

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_108q4mxkkhs